


The Beast, the Woman, and Her Flowers

by creatoriginsane



Series: Tori | Hana | Ken [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fourth Shinobi War, Language of Flowers, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-15 00:38:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14148114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creatoriginsane/pseuds/creatoriginsane
Summary: "He is no brute, he is a man."Konoha's Green Beast has met his match in a woman with flowers in her hair.(Spin-off/Lighthearted companion to Love-in-idleness.)





	1. Peony

**Author's Note:**

> I got sidetracked by this idea whilst in the middle of writing the revisions for Love-in-idleness and Cactus Flower. For fans of Martyrdom is an Art, the revision, The Killer and the Artist already has a chapter uploaded here and on FF.net.
> 
> Thanks!

Shikaku no Shikai has become a lot of things.

Being a woman who is in desperate need of a man...

_No._

Being a companion to a charming and beautiful woman who is chasing after a very ordinary-looking man is not one of them.

Until now.

In one of Konohagakure's many drinking establishments, she is sitting across the very distraught, yet amazingly flawless-looking Koubaku Haru.

Haru, as Shikai knows her, is the beautiful, delicate-looking flower of their trio, Tori-Hana-Ken. Haru is a geisha by profession, well-versed in all the arts and gifted with the charms even goddesses would be envious of. Men all over have chased after her, have vowed to win battles for her, and have even waged war against countries for her.

Well, the latter is obviously an exaggeration, but Shikai wouldn't put it past them. After all, Haru is a woman of expensive taste and a certain eye for bloodshed. As far as Shikai knows, Haru's special technique is as artistic as it is macabre.

And Shikai knows all about artists and their macabre tendencies. She loved one, after all.

Which makes it all the more unnerving that this woman had even set foot in such a cheap, homely establishment.

Even in their missions before, Haru would never even let herself be near such a place.

But they aren't on a mission today.

So why is she...

_Oh._

Shikai could almost slap herself for not realizing it sooner.

She speaks to Haru in a low voice, eyes looking over everyone in the room, "Now who could have possibly caught your eye in this city?"

Haru smiled wickedly, painted lips parting to show perfect teeth.

Shikai had forgotten how single-minded Haru is when it comes to things that she wants.

"Him."

Haru's eyes move the slightest bit to the left.

"He's the one." She says, all giddy and excited.

Shikai looks behind her and sees someone completely ordinary-looking, someone who wouldn't even be worth a second glance. If he is the one Haru wants, then...

"That one?" She scoffs. "He seems ordinary."

Shikai turns back to the drink before her and starts sipping.

"Oh, but he isn't just any man!" Haru exclaims. "He's Konohagakure's Magnificent Green Beast!"

Shikai almost sputters out her drink at the title. "Is that what you call him then?"

There is no way that plain-looking man has that extravagant of a title.

She laughs. "Then he's no different from being a monster."

But Haru's vibrant green eyes are quick to turn cold.

"He is no brute." She chides, as if lecturing a young child, "He is a man."

Shikai rolls her eyes. "I didn't say he was a brute."

Haru's tone is bitter, condescending. "As if you are any different, Shikai."

That struck a nerve.

"Why suddenly so bitter?" Shikai sighs before she turns back to the man, sitting all casual and drinking something that looks to have no alcohol in it.

"He looks... Well, he's dressed quite nicely."

Shikai means plainly.

Haru's hand on her shoulder snaps her back to face the geisha.

"He caught those thieves so easily!"

"He's a shinobi, Haru." She nods. "It's only expected of them."

The man wore a forehead protector.

"He showed incredible reaction time!" Haru continued.

Shikai nods again. "He must be quite an exceptional shinobi, then."

"I couldn't even see him!"

"Well, he wouldn't be an effective shinobi otherwise."

"And he's so..." Haru fawns over him, "so gallant in his words."

"Yeah." Shikai casts a sideways glance at the shinobi, "He looks like the type."

"Oh, but he didn't even look at me!" Haru frowns. "Not even a glance!"

Shikai thinks she's being too dramatic. Of course shinobi wouldn't ogle women when they're chasing after criminals.

"I was standing a mere few feet from him!"

"Yeah." She manages to drawl out. "He doesn't look like the type to appreciate a woman's charm."

"Maybe he's already committed!" Haru begins panicking. "He must be married! A man like him! Of course he would already–"

"It doesn't look like he is." Shikai deadpanned.

And Haru stops.

"And am I to trust your discerning eye?" She looked at Shikai critically.

"Yes." Shikai finishes the contents of her glass, feels the buzz of the alcohol in her body. "But I really can't believe that we aren't even one week into our stay in Konohagakure and you're already looking for men."

She really can't.

"Well, aren't you?"

Haru really isn't one to hold back.

Shikai grimaces. "Does it look like I have the time?"

"Well, you certainly have the time now, eating and drinking with me in the middle of the afternoon." Haru gestured to the two pitches of cocktails and the platter of seafood and barbecue between them.

Shikai shrugs. "It was either this or joining Tenkou's search for an apartment that can allow pets."

Haru smiles. "What about you?" She takes a sip of her drink. "Where are you planning to live?"

"Somewhere in the city that's far from all the noise."

Haru knows it's impossible.

"Good luck finding one."

She pours another glass for Shikai, another for herself.

"Why have we been stationed here, anyway?" Shikai whined.

"There's a war brewing and we're at the place where it all started."

Ever since Uzumaki Naruto had defeated the leader of the Akatsuki, the entire world has been thrown into a mess of politics and whispers of a coming war.

"I'd rather be stationed somewhere far from the coming mess."

Haru nods in agreement as Shikai chugs the contents of her glass.

"You just haven't had enough romance in your life!" She jokes.

"No." Shikai is quick to sound sullen. "I think I've had enough."

"Actually, you and him are perhaps the same in having a lack of a romantic life." Haru noted.

She glares at the smiling woman. "Don't lump me in with the shinobi, Haru."

"Romance is an essential part of life, don't you think?"

Haru offers her glass up in a toast.

"Yes."

Shikai raises her glass to hers.

"But choose someone who could actually share that life with you."

_Oh, Shikai._

Haru watches as Shikai drinks. "Is that coming from experience?"

Of course, Shikai finishes her glass. Her lips are wet and her eyes are cold.

"Where else would it come from?" She whispered.

"I think..." Haru suggests, "I think I'll go to him."

Shikai blinks, but doesn't say anything. She knows Haru has always been forward, and just lets her stand up and walk towards the man.

But what surprises Shikai is that Haru walks past that ordinary-looking shinobi and heads further back.

Even further that Shikai had to crane her neck a little just to see who Haru is...

She could not believe her eyes.

* * *

Haru had always been the woman that never goes unnoticed. She had never been a wallflower or a mere bystander. She had always been the bouquet of flowers noticed by all and everyone. She had always been cast a second glance, but now...

Now she knew what it felt like to be invisible.

As she approaches this man of undeniable robustness, this man of pure and unadulterated masculinity, this man that might very well be the man of her dreams...

_Why hasn't he noticed me yet!?_

Haru feels so impatient and giddy, feels her knees growing weaker as she approaches him ever so slowly, feels her heart race in her chest and her cheeks heat up.

She hasn't felt this way in a long time. She probably hasn't felt this way in the twenty-six years she had been alive.

_Look at me! Look at me!_

Her mouth trembles at the sight of him. She feels her body shake and she fears that her long, dark hair would suddenly come out of its elegant updo.

But it doesn't. Thankfully, it doesn't.

Haru produces a single blossom from her kimono sleeve. It is a peony, the gentle-looking blossom with such an honest message to convey. She is merely a few feet from him now, and she's inching closer and closer.

He's laughing and drinking and still not noticing her.

Oh, she could just summon vines and root to force him to look at her, but that would be unbecoming of such a lady like her, wouldn't it?

She offers the flower to him before she says anything else.

He stops laughing.

His friends stop laughing.

This is the scene she had been waiting for. He's looking up at her, wide-eyed and surprised.

This is the silence she had been hoping for.

"You were very brave today, sir." She says, blushing deeply.

He reaches for her hand.

And quickly plucks the peony from her trembling fingers without so much as touching them.

"Yes! This! The flower of youth would look like this!"

He's looking at the pink peony the same way Haru is looking at him.

He is Maito Gai, Konohagakure's overly-energetic, youth-loving, Magnificent Green Beast.

"I thank you, kind woman!" He gives Haru his signature smile.

And at that moment, Haru faints.


	2. Agrimony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haru was asleep for over a year. Just kidding. I had stalled this and everything else I was supposedly writing for Naruto until now. I wrote a lot of other things and now I think it's time for me to get back.
> 
> Love-in-idleness will be updated soon, if only to end things cleanly in three or four more chapters before I start with Over Troubled Waters (working title).
> 
> Oh, and this timeline happens before Love-in-idleness, like nearing the Chuunin Exams of the original series. So it's not really a spin-off? Oh, goodness. What have I done? Anyway, the previous chapter has been updated for consistency.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated. I love these women so much and I hope you do as well. Thanks for reading.

Shikai had met Haru when she was thirty years old. And in the two years she has known her, she has never really asked why Haru is in the profession that she is.

That is, under the employment of a certain Lady Miyabi, a wealthy philanthropist whose main source of income is the fact that she is abundantly rich. Lady Miyabi hails from Hi no Kuni, but is not affiliated to the daimyou, not entirely, not directly. In fact, she could hardly say that she is affiliated with any one of the daimyou from any of the countries.

Shikai thinks Lady Miyabi could establish her own country and no one would bat an eye.

No, Lady Miyabi could  _definitely_  establish her own country and no one would even  _dare_  bat an eye.

She was that wealthy and that powerful, she employs various kinds of people into her service, and still has enough resources to provide for other countries in need.

" _Konohagakure is hosting the exams this year. I want you to go there for me."_

Which is why they've found themselves at the said village's gates, holding on to Lady Miyabi's invitation and a letter from the woman herself.

"We are here in Lady Miyabi's behalf." Shikai tells the guards, handing them the letter.

And it was an expensive-looking letter, written on silken paper, with the finest black ink, and enclosed in an embroidered scroll.

The man doesn't need to read the letter in its entirety, as he sees Lady Miyabi's golden stamp of approval on the lower left.

"Of course!" He stutters. "Please enjoy your visit!"

He returns the letter to her with shaky hands.

"Thank you, kind sirs." Haru replied as Shikai tucked the letter back into her sleeve.

"Let's go, Haru." Shikai cleared her throat, fixing the straw hat over her head.

Haru smiled at them brightly, and Shikai could already tell that they've fallen for it, before trailing after her.

* * *

Konohagakure is big and loud. They were told that graduation had just finished and everyone is busier than ever. Foreigners, whether shinobi or not, are sure to come through the village by the hundreds.

"We have four days before the Chuunin Exams." Shikai says, suddenly feeling weary at the sight of the crowd. "Best find a place to stay for however long it is."

"Oh, there's no rush." Haru says cheerfully. "Exams would usually last for only two to three weeks."

"Usually?"

"And this village looks so vibrant." Haru continued, "I wonder how many fresh buds are there."

Shikai thinks that metaphor is either horrific or harrowing.

"Whatever, they're going to wilt eventually anyway." Shikai mutters, stepping forward to clear their first agenda of the day.

Lodging.

So they spent half of their morning looking for a place to stay in, a place spacious enough to fit two people comfortably. Though Shikai wanted a place far from the main streets, Haru wanted nothing more than to live along the main streets, where all the market stalls and all the noise is.

"Wouldn't you consider somewhere inconspicuous?" Shikai looked over the inn's too-welcoming facade.

"What for? We aren't here for an assassination." Haru was unabashed enough to say it so openly.

But with all the things going on around them, no one had noticed. After all, they were just two women looking for a place to stay.

"It's too... close to the main street." Shikai preferred quiet places.

"Which is the most inconspicuous location of all."

And Haru was right. It was a traveler's inn close to restaurants and market stalls. No one would suspect anything.

As if there was anything to be suspicious of?

In the end, Shikai agrees and books two rooms across each other. She takes the room on the inside and Haru takes the room facing the street. The rooms were only mildly lavish; with a raised futon, a simple vanity, a table and two chairs each, and a heater with a tea set.

Haru's room had a vase, perhaps left behind by the room's previous occupant, and takes a single stem from her sleeve.

It was a yellow agrimony.

But of course, to Shikai it was just a flower.

Much like the carved flower on her hairpin, a purple globe amaranth.

Haru wonders why she keeps it on her person at all times.

"I'm going out." Haru says over Shikai's shoulder. "I want to see what's there in the market."

A drawer was open in the vanity in Shikai's room, and her hairpin was held in one hand. Haru could only assume what she was about to do.

"Do you want to come with me?"

Shikai shook her head. "I think I'll rest for a while."

"I'll be back by lunch." Haru smiled before she left.

Shikai doesn't believe her.

This is Haru's first time in this village, and Shikai knows that Haru just absolutely loves exploring shops and stalls.

"At least she's not the type you need to take care of." Shikai says to herself before drifting off to sleep.

Haru was the type you need to be careful of.

* * *

Though her outward appearance shows little of it, Shikai believes Haru can cut a man's head cleanly off his shoulders with the ease and grace as if she were trimming a bonsai.

And that is exactly what Haru is doing.

Rather, she's looking at a stall featuring small bonsai trees.

"And these are grown here?"

"Oh, yes!" The old lady manning the stall replied. "Right here in my garden."

"How wonderful."

She thinks the bonsai could use a little more watering.

The store she goes to after that is an apothecary. The dried plants are all in dusty, labeled jars. The middle-aged man behind the counter is gingerly counting what looks to be seeds.

"Excuse me."

And he looks up, the stern look on his face unchanging.

"Would you happen to have any–" She was about to ask him if he had any dried angelica when a distant voice shouted.

"Stop, thief!"

She stepped outside to see the commotion. There were three men, each with a bag of goods, running and shoving past unwitting civilians. She could stop them if she tried. She could.

"Hana Ninpou–"

But before she could actually summon vines to trap and capture those thieves, a man wearing a green tracksuit ran past her.

A man who, to her, bore the fiercest eyes and the brightest of smiles.

At that moment, Haru fell in love.

* * *

But in the present moment, Haru is unconscious.

And Shikai, ever roped in her antics and her misadventure since the day they met, rushes to save her from the fall.

"I'm sorry for my friend." She says to the group at the table. "She's had a bit too much to drink."

She rushes Haru right out of there and heads straight to the inn.

_So much for being inconspicuous._

But mere minutes after being laid down on her futon, Haru wakes up shocked and red-faced. She knew all-too-well what had happened minutes before.

"How embarrassing!" She cried into her hands.

"I told you." Shikai doesn't comfort her. "Don't make an embarrassment of yourself while we're here."

"I fainted?" But Haru seems to not hear her, and instead continues her lamenting. "In front of him?"

Shikai sighs.

"Oh, what would he think of me now?"

"Possibly just shocked. Possibly unstable." Shikai joked.

Haru continued wailing.

"But it's unlikely that either of you would see each other again."

_That quieted her..._

"Why do you think so?" Haru asked meekly.

"He's a shinobi, Haru." Shikai states knowingly. "And shinobi have very little time outside of their missions and their training."

"But he was..."

_Yes, he could have time, but not enough for you, Haru._

Haru doesn't say anything more, but instead looks down as if in grief

"But the Chuunin Exams begin in a few days." Shikai says in an attempt to comfort her. If there was anything scarier than a single-minded Haru, it was an emotional Haru.

For some reason, her abilities are more potent, a bit more stronger, and a lot more formidable if she was unlike her usual self. And Shikai does not want to be a victim of that.

"You might see him again."

And Haru's frown faded.

"Yes." She said dreamily. "I will see him again."

The pink flush on Haru's cheeks does not deter Shikai from Haru's declaration.

She will see him again.

_Oh, no._

And Haru means it.

* * *

Back at the bar, a certain Shiranui Genma picks up and hairpin from the ground and regrets ever thinking to not go drinking with Gai ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, can you feel the ships now? Just kidding. I hope I get to update my other works soon! Thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in love with writing these women. Consider this as the light-hearted companion to the angsty parody that is Love-in-idleness. And just like that story, updates will be sporadic. I'm just making things up as I go along, sorry.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks!


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